Marvin Fong, The Plain DealerFerris Kleem leaves federal court in Akron last winter after testifying in the racketeering trial of former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — A paving company with ties to crooked contractor Ferris Kleem, a prominent figure in the Cuyahoga County corruption scandal, recently received a public contract partly funded with county money.

E-Global LLC -- a company owned by Kleem's wife and three sons -- has substantially completed $318,000 worth of street and sidewalk repairs for the city of Berea, according to Tony Armagno, the suburb's engineer.

E-Global was the lowest bidder, Armagno said, and nearly half the cost of the project is being covered by a $150,000 community development block grant awarded by the Cuyahoga County Department of Development.

Kleem, who is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 5 for conspiring to bribe public officials, visited the Berea work site on occasion and delivered project documents to City Hall, Armagno said.

But Kleem's attorney, Ralph Cascarilla, said Wednesday that his client has no ownership interest in E-Global and receives no compensation from the company. Cascarilla said Kleem's sons own 99 percent of the company and his wife, Loriann, owns 1 percent.

Prosecutors contend Kleem bankrolled a trip to Las Vegas and procured a prostitute for Dimora. Among the benefits Kleem received in return was his choice of a county inspector to handle a county-funded road project awarded to Blaze Construction.

County Executive Ed FitzGerald could not be reached Wednesday for comment on the county money that went to E-Global. But he issued a statement stating that proposed legislation would give the county tighter controls over work given to contractors.

The county's department of development was present with E-Global at a pre-construction meeting for the Berea street and sidewalk project, Armagno said. But he said he didn't know whether the county was aware of E-Global's connection to Kleem.

Armagno described E-Global as a successor to Blaze Construction, which Kleem used to run. Many of Blaze's former superintendents and laborers now work for E-Global, hesaid.

The Berea Board of Control, which approves expenditures authorized by city council, had a brief discussion about E-Global, said Berea Law Director Jim Walters. The connection with Kleem came up, as did the likelihood that some taxpayers will be angry, Walters said, but the board members expressed no opposition to the contract.

The control board includes Berea Mayor Cyril Kleem and city directors. Cyril Kleem said he was not at the control board meeting where E-Global was discussed, and that he recused himself from any other discussion of the contract because Ferris Kleem is his second cousin.

Ferris Kleem faces a prison term of up to two years, but he has been allowed to remain free for the last two years because he is cooperating with federal prosecutors. He testified against Dimora at his corruption trial. Dimora was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge John Adams stated in a recent court filing that he may impose a fine that exceeds the maximum set by federal law. That maximum, in Kleem's case, is $250,000.

Since Kleem's downfall, E-Global has obtained other public work. In 2011, the company was the low bidder for more than $222,000 in road improvements for Middleburg Heights, said Middleburg Heights Service Director Jim Herron.

Herron, who was on the Middleburg Heights City Council when the project was approved, said he didn't realize at the time that the company was connected to Ferris Kleem.

E-Global has not limited itself to just public contracts. It completed the construction of a $3 million welcome center for Baldwin Wallace University earlier this year, as well as a $600,000 parking lot on campus, said university spokeswoman Sue Searcy.

Both projects were competitively bid, said Bill Reniff, the university's vice president of finance.

Reniff said the school's construction staff spoke with Kleem and he was forthcoming about his legal situation. Reniff said Kleem has a good history with the school when it comes to delivering "a quality project on time and on budget."

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